By Owen Thomas, 7:55 PM on Tue Sep 25 2007, 6,882 views (Edit, to draft, un-top, Slurp)

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There's not much surprise left, given the drumbeat of rumors that AOL would be pursuing mass layoffs later this year. But we now hear that layoffs have started at the Internet giant, even earlier than expected, with a number of middle managers getting the chop Tuesday afternoon. Anyone have more details on who's out, and which parts of the company are getting hit the hardest? Send in a tip. Update: At Silicon Alley Insider, Henry Blodget says the date for mass layoffs has been set for October 16. Another source says Tuesday's layoffs were mostly in AOL's international business, leaving few people outside the UK. And yet another tipster suggests that it was all an elaborate joke gone wrong.